Periodic Reporting for period 1 - AgriCloud (Demonstration of a cloud-based precision farming management system for a sustainable and intensive agriculture to secure long-term food supply in Europe)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2015-05-01 al 2015-09-30
The objectives were to prepare the AgriCloud market introduction thoroughly by identifying special concerns, risks, and IP issues and transforming this knowledge into a reliable and sustainable business approach. The project-specific objectives were:
• To realise customer surveys to analyse their special concerns and constraints w.r.t. PF and identify pilot customers for the first trials in target countries (Germany, Poland, Baltic States)
• To elaborate the business plan with more concrete market figures in the target countries and develop different commercialisation scenarios
• To set up a risk management plan and IP strategy
• To collect and present trusted data about PF benefits depending on farm size and crop type to increase market acceptance
The SME Instrument Phase 1 of the project has been successfully finished after five months by the end of October 2015. The results are very encouraging and enable to move the technology towards a TRL 7.
All six tasks have been executed according to the Grant Agreement. The customer survey conducted proved to be highly valuable with regard to identifying current factors which can have a positive or negative impact on the adoption of PF technology by European farmers. The market evaluation for the eight target markets identified Germany, Poland and Romania as national markets to focus on first. Seven pilot customers were identified. An extensive FTO analysis was performed and yielded full freedom-to-operate for AgriCloud. In addition, agricon has implemented in-house IPR management. A calculation tool to prove the economic benefits of AgriCloud to potential farmer customers was successfully developed and tested. The business plan has been sharpened and the technical and economic feasibility proven.
For financing, agricon will apply for SME instrument Phase 2 funding.
In the broader context, the outcome of this business innovation project demonstrates the high potential of PF technology for improving the Europe’s competitiveness in the field of agricultural high technologies. Ultimately, the success of PF technology such as AgriCloud will help to improve and reduce the ecological footprint of the European agricultural industry. At the same time, the future success of PF technologies (as it can be expected for AgriCloud) clearly will help to safeguard the economic viability of European farmers by improving the cost-efficient use of fertilisers and by providing holistic farming management tools which enable optimal yields.